A New Age: A Grey Beginning
by Nomad-117
Summary: REVISION of Welcome to the New Age by Vergil1989 the Crossover King: Young Justice has shattered the Light, and have begun to heal from the loss of Wally West. The world has begun to move forward since the failed Reach invasion, and the people are beginning to relax their guard. But the darkening horizon promises to bring new, terrifying dangers.
1. Business as Usual

**Author's Notes:** After **Archer83's** unfortunate but planned departure and realizing we had screwed up royally by trying to cram all of the DC universe into a Young Justice crossover story, myself and **Nomad-117** have decided to give this a fresh coat of paint. The general story will be the same, but we'll be rewriting the majority of this to stay true to our original intent rather than trying to mix and match elements from various DC continuities. At any rate, take care folks and sorry for the very late update/revision.

 **Episode 1: Business as Usual**

 **Star City, Star Labs**

 **November 23rd, 2016**

 **8;01 AM**

Bartholomew 'Impulse' Allen, commonly referred to as Bart by his friends and family, was bored out of his skull as he and the gathered class listened to some Star Lab egghead drone on and on about some distant pulsar their astrology department had recently discovered. To make matters worse, he couldn't even doze off, otherwise his team leader would skin him alive, something he made quite clear with the glares he threw his way when he'd dared to yawn early into the tour. It's not like he and the rest of the gang hadn't been in the world famous science labs before, but they were undercover as 'tourists' for this mission, so Bart was stuck in civilian clothes, unable to run literal circles around the building until they had something to go on.

Besides, it wasn't like anything the scientists had discovered would actually shock the League, multiple members of the team were aliens after all, one with his own hideout in the arctic which contained all of the accumulated knowledge of his people. Whatever they had discovered was probably old news for Supes. Not that their mission entailed the pulsar in the first place, no, he and the four man team were supposed to be investigating rumors of stolen tech, likely smuggled out by a grunt working for one of the remaining members of the Light organization. Turning to whisper out the side of his mouth, Bart said, "Yo hermano, why're we standin' around with the tour guide from Hell again? I could phase through a wall and be back before ya know it, multiple times."

"I know." His partner, Jaime Reyes, whispered back in exasperation. "I got it the first five times."

"Well… yeah, but I could still do it." Bart offered excitedly as he practically bounced on his sneakered feet, sneakers that could withstand the incredible force he'd exert on them if he were to run off, which he was really hoping he'd be allowed to because sitting still was not something he enjoyed. Still, for his main man Jaime, also known as Blue Beetle, he'd stay put…. even as he turned his head to regard another of the group as they and the rest of the class began to trail after their tour guide. "So whatcha think Garth? Care to blow this popsicle stand?"

"Meh, if I was interested in pissing off my big sis, maybe." Garfield Logan replied and smirked sheepishly, one green skinned hand rubbing at the back of his neck. At least, normally it'd green, but thanks to the holographic projector he had on his belt, he appeared as mundane as any of the other teens in the group. Beast Boy didn't mind though, he loved being able to shapeshift into any animal he'd seen up close, even if he couldn't make himself appear fully human anymore without technological assistance. "But ya know how Megan gets, and that's not getting into the former Boy Wonder."

"Yeah…" Impulse agreed and sent a quick glance towards Dick Grayson, who stood further in the back. "Still, can't blame them… not when it's about the Light." He finished with a just detectable growl in his voice. The Light had a lot to answer for, the death of Wally being chief among them even if it'd been the Reach that had been directly responsible for the tragedy in question.

"Not really helping with the covert there Bart." Dick chuckled, the only non empowered member of the team as he adjusted his dark sunglasses so they were closer to his baby blue eyes. As a member of the Bat family, some of the first if not THE first vigilantes to ever walk the face of the planet, Nightwing had a legacy to uphold as he idly 'checked' his cellphone which, like the young man himself, was far more than it appeared as he did a scan of the immediate area under the guise of snapping pictures. "Just be grateful that Artemis isn't here… and that we got a pretty interesting topic to listen to."

Bart's disbelieving if deadpanned look he shot at Dick spoke volumes. "Are you serious… not the Artemis bit but the rest."

"Of course, my training covered a wide variety of subjects, you never know when something like this might come in handy." Dick nonchalantly replied as he continued to scan for anything out of the ordinary.

"It's a pulsar dude! What good is that supposed to be?" Bart exclaimed, louder than he intended. He immediately calmed thanks in no small part to Jaime jabbing an elbow into his side.

"Yeah, it's not like League business ever takes place in space right?" Dick countered, his little smirk widening somewhat as he finished his scan with nothing to show for it.

Bart sighed in defeat, knowing he'd lost, but nodded his head in agreement despite this. "Point made, point taken. Still think ya should let me run off the chain there boss. I am seriously wanting to crash this mode."

"I'm tempted, but let's give it a few more minutes." Dick replied, the amused note in his voice making it to clear to everyone that he was enjoying this just a little too much as they continued down the brightly lit hallway, passing a variety of labs dedicated to every kind of science one could think of.

"A few more minutes?" Bart whined and shuddered. "Do you know how long that is for me?"

"As long as it is for everyone else, only your perception of it is different." Dick countered, smoothly as ever.

"You are a cruel man." Bart accused him and looked at Garth. "Back me up here."

"Well… he's got you there." Garth replied as he put his hands behind his neck and looked towards the ceiling, innocent as he pleased.

"That's not what I wanted you to tell him! Ugh…." Defeated and receiving no support, even from his best friend, Bart let his arms flop out in front of him as his head fell. "Someone send me back to the future." He groaned, but he didn't actually mean that since _his_ future had been a post apocalyptic nightmare, courtesy of a previously successful Reach invasion.

"I'll start looking for a DeLorean." Jaime promised him with a smirk and a pat his back. "On a more serious note, hermano, hang in there, we're almost done." Only those closest to Jaime that weren't aware of what was fused to his spine, gave him an odd look when he began talking to himself. "You didn't need to tell me that."

"So….what'd the Scarab say this time?" Bart sing songed as they rounded a corner.

"We still have a half hour of the tour to endure, amigo." Jaime regretted admitting as much when Bart gave another, rather pathetic sounding groan.

" _Ugh…_ can't we send someone else next time? Like literally anyone else?" The speedster asked, his right foot tapping impatiently against the linoleum floor. In his case, said 'tapping' was done at such a speed that his foot was a literal blur until Dick 'coughed' to remind him they were supposed to be undercover. Slowing it down to a much more normal pace, Bart muttered something that suspiciously sounded like 'and this is what it's like to be surrounded by slow, old people. I am _so_ glad I'm a speedster.'

Dick sighed but smirked despite how he too was starting to lose his patience with Bart's continued complaints. Pulling out his phone again, he paused as his X-Ray enhanced search of the area revealed something quite interesting to the ace detective and computer whiz. "I think I got something. Now why am I not surprised to see you here?" He mused more to himself than anyone in particular as Bart zipped up to Dick's right shoulder while Garth and Jaime slowed down to trail after him. Seeing what was on the screen before Dick put his phone away, they shared a nod before they all too casually slipped away from the crowd without anyone being the wiser. With how long they'd been slipping into enemy encampments and the like, the stealth approach was practically second nature to them these days.

Ducking into a bathroom, the four man team exited in short order via a ventilation shaft. Nightwing, once again clad in his blue and black Bat styled suit, was in the lead, with Garth having turned into a small, green skinned mouse that was perched on the young man's right shoulder. Blue Beetle, fully encased in his own blue and black, insect like armor, was just behind them, with Impulse bringing up the rear. The trademark lightning bolt and tech goggles, as well as the full body yellow and red speed suit, made him stand out, but speedsters weren't typically known for their stealth. This was one of those rare exceptions though, and he was just glad they were finally _doing_ something. "Parasite the one collecting all this Star Labs tech, but why is he interested?"

"It's been suspected the Light were recruiting new members ever since we shattered their group, cutting their ranks in half. If Parasite's working for them, then it makes sense they'd send him to collect their smuggled goods." Nightwing explained as he effortlessly navigated the lab's vent system, having already hacked the security so that their progress would go undetected while also giving himself a full map of the entire complex. Having spotted him being handed a number of metallic containers and boxes by a few of the local guards and a scientist, all of them located in a parking garage deeper inside the building, Nightwing was all too happy to rain on their parade. "Parasite proved his technological prowess during that fiasco in Geneva a few years ago, and given his unique powerset, he's the perfect combination of brawn and brains."

"Just don't let him touch you, or you'll find out why he's called Parasite." Jaime warned, to which Garth squeaked his agreement.

"Don't underestimate him, I doubt that we'll have an easy time with this guy." Nightwing warned them and rolled his shoulders. "After we defeated him with fire, once he'd absorbed Miss Martian's powers and weaknesses, he's undoubtedly made sure that it won't be that simple this time."

"We'll manage jeffe." Blue Beetle offered before his face mask, which moved as easily as his own face, morphed into a grin. "Besides, I have no powers, only what the Scarab gives me, so the most he'd get from me is Espanol."

"Still, don't risk it BB." Jaime nodded, not about to underestimate a guy who could readily absorb the powers and skills of anyone he got his hands on as Nightwing paused in front of a vent cover. Pulling out a small wire camera, he fed it through the grate in front of him, and slowly began to scan the next room. The image on his right arm showed them that Parasite and his hired thugs were still loading up a large semi trailer full of Star Labs tech parts. "Still hard at it. Shall we introduce ourselves?"

"Hehe, oh yeah! Let's do it!" Bart cheered as loudly as he dared as the others did the same.

"Alright, but be careful… Bart if you would?" Nightwing said and nodded towards Parasite. "Keep him distracted." Impulse grinned widely as he pulled his goggles down over his eyes as Nightwing carefully pushed the grate out of their way before lowering it to the ground. Slipping out first, he darted behind a stack of metallic containers on the far side of the garage, with Bart, Garth, and Jaime finding their own hiding spots. BB made his way to an upper catwalk that spanned the length of the garage, while Garth, having transformed into a pigeon, landed on a steel rafter just above the hired guns. Bart had since ducked behind a nearby steel column within sight of their team leader. On his signal, Impulse darted around the corner just as time slowed down to an imperceptible crawl.

"I _love_ being me!" While no one heard him as he ran up to the purple skinned, mutated mountain of a man as he was just about to grab one last container from another of the guards, Impulse punched the back of Parasite's right knee before hitting him several times in the chest and his other knee, tripping him up before he slammed a fist into the nearest guard's face. Running towards the rest of the group, the speedster stripped their weapons and deposited their equipment in a safe place before he slowed down to a much more perceptible speed. Parasite went down first, growling defiantly at having been hit without being the wiser for it, while the rest of the guards were either dumbfounded by the fact they were no longer armed, or were on the floor from having been blindsided in the opening salvo.

"Another speedster." Parasite grumbled as he rubbed a hand across the bottom of his chin. "It's too bad really, I'd have loved to have gotten my hands on Kid Flash until there was nothing left, but the Reach beat me to it. How is the Flash family holdin' up these days?" He had his answer when Impulse shot out of hiding with a growl, his fists a blur as he pummeled the mutant from every angle before zipping away. Taking a knee, Parasite growled a curse right before a blue bar of glowing metal slammed into his chest, pinning him to the unforgiving ground. "Ugh! Blue Beetle….I didn't think escargot would be on the menu! I take it you're done being the Reach's lap dog, Jaime Reyes?!"

"I was never their lap dog Parasite." BB retorted angrily as he fired another staple, trapping the man's right arm to the ground before he followed that with a shot to his neck. Another two shots had his left hand pinned to the ground before he could try and pry the 'staples' loose. "I do have to ask, but why're you working for the Light? I didn't think a guy like you were much of a team player."

Between Garth, who stomped up to the downed mutant as a giant, green skinned gorilla, and Nightwing, they were able to mop up the rest of the guards and their lab assistant before joining Blue Beetle and Impulse as they soon surrounded their downed adversary. Parasite, despite being trapped and at their mercy, merely grinned wickedly. "Times change, and the Light pays better than anyone I've ever worked for. Besides, getting to be a thorn in your side is far more entertaining than my usual gigs!" Much to their surprise, Parasite's flesh turned into a thick, goopy mess as he slipped through Blue Beetle's staples and reformed himself, standing at his full, intimidating height once more. "Clayface sends his regards, Boy Blunder."

"I'll be sure to make room for you in his cell, so that you two can catch up." Nightwing shot back and fired his grapple gun up only to disappear in the shadows. A few moments later Parasite was hit right in the back by an explosive batarang, though they did little else but make him stumble forward.

"You're gonna have to do better than that." Parasite boasted and swung at one of the metallic beams in the room, his fist, changing to look more like a giant mace, crushed it against the wall before he drew his arm back to repeat the process. "Better hurry up, you gonna run out of hiding space soon."

Just as he finished, the claw of a grappling hook burrowed itself deeply in his chest, only to light up with electricity a moment later. Parasite screamed in pain as he could no longer maintain his form and slowly became little more than a puddle on the ground even as the energy continued to course through him. "That good enough?" Dick asked, his voice holding a dark, chilling undertone as he glared down at the growing puddle at the team's feet.

"Better get a barrel and a blowtorch so we can get him back to Belle Reve without him slipping away." Impulse stated as Nightwing nimbly landed just in front of the puddle. "And maybe a giant sponge." He cackled, but the wide grin on his face didn't quite reach his eyes. The jab at Wally's untimely death had struck them all, made worse by the fact that it was still a raw wound for many of them.

 **Central City, City Cemetery**

 **November 23rd, 2016**

 **1;24 PM**

Artemis Lian Crock could only stare dejectedly at the grave marker in front of her. The sad irony was that she had had to fake her own death in order to infiltrate Black Manta's sub alongside Kaldur'ahm, while they'd been trying to take down the Light and the Reach, but she wasn't standing in front of her own 'grave' in downtown Gotham. That would have been depressing enough on its own since she had lied to pretty much everyone, her own mother and sister included, about what she'd _really_ been up to during that time. It didn't help she knew most of her remaining family and friends had held a funeral for her, truly believing she'd died, only to find out later that Artemis had been alive and well in the months that followed. No, she wasn't standing in front her own grave marker, which last she'd heard had been removed fairly recently anyway once she'd properly returned home. Running a hand over the front of the stone marker at her feet though, she read Wally West's name, as unchanging as it'd ever been since booting the Reach from Earth after their failed attempt to destroy the planet.

"H-Hey Wally." She began uncertainly and sighed, annoyed with herself. No matter how often she had been here, it never got any less awkward, seemingly talking to herself, nor did she ever stop to pause as if she was expecting him to answer her. "It's been awhile, huh? Sorry I couldn't show up sooner… Work you know, someone has to make sure the world keeps spinning and all that." Her weak attempt at humor had a ghost of a smile appearing on her face even as a tear formed in the corner of her dark brown eyes. "Everyone misses you... _I_ miss you, and you know it's bad when even my sister Jade keeps 'insisting' in paying me visits with her little one in tow, under the pretense of having me babysit for her." Considering her sister was a member of the League of Shadows, an ancient order of powerful and skilled assassins, it wasn't like Jade could simply walk through the front door and say hello. That and it was more her style to jump through a window or crawl through an air vent first, just so she could scare the Hell out of Artemis and their mother for the entertainment value, to quote Jade herself. Though to be fair, both things were rather difficult to do when you were carrying a baby around with on your back.

"I even miss your lame jokes you know… Ugh, I am so pathetic. Coming here every chance I get to whine to you." Artemis growled and narrowed her eyes. "It's stupid, if I wanted to talk to you I could do it anywhere, so why do I keep coming here? If you were here you'd have some dumb answer prepared… but you aren't… and I need to learn to live with that." She finished, her voice dropping to a despondent whisper.

"It's not a weakness to mourn for a loved one...Artemis." Without looking up, Artemis sighed but even as age old annoyance flared in her eyes, she was glad for Jade's presence as she stepped up to the blonde haired woman's side. Despite their very different paths in life that had put them on opposite ends more than once, things had….gotten better between the two of them.

That didn't mean she couldn't still be annoyed with Jade though. "Do you _have_ to keep stalking me?"

"What kind of older sister would I be if I didn't?" Jade asked, the usual, playful note in her voice as evident as ever.

Jade was shorter, but not much so, than Artemis herself, with a wild, lioness's mane of black, voluminous hair that framed the woman's olive colored skinned face. Unsurprisingly, she wore clothes that, while less noticeable than her usual kimono she often wore whenever she was 'on the job', shared its dark green color tone with a pair of mundane, gray jean pants and a pair of dark black running shoes. Artemis could only guess at the number of hidden blades, sais, and shurikens were tucked about her sister's person though.

"A normal one." Artemis retorted without missing a beat as she crossed her arms over her brown leather jacket and the gray, long sleeve shirt she wore underneath.

"Yeah, right, because you are _oh_ so normal yourself." Still, Jade sighed and looked away, down towards the grave marker between them. "For what it's worth, little sister, I saw how happy you were with him. Despite my trying to kill him a few times, I was honestly a bit jealous you had found someone so good for you." Artemis managed a weak, grateful smile despite being reminded of the fact they were still not on the same side. Still, she begrudgingly accepted her older woman's hug as Jade leaned in close. "I know...we've not seen eye to eye in years, that you have no reason to trust me….especially not after I left you when I did all those years ago, but I'm always around, Artemis, and I'll always be glad you didn't follow me and dad."

"It's not too late to change professions you know." Artemis offered, but she was just glad they were having this moment at all as she returned the hug as best she could.

"Ah ah ah, no redemption speech now little sister." Jade chided her softly and pulled her closer. "Just us hugging, like normal people. I _am_ your older sister. You know you can talk to me, complain to me, scream at me, hell I'll even get you ice cream. Not sure how that's supposed to help, but in the movies it seems to do the trick." Stepping back once she deemed a sufficient amount of time had passed, Jade ran a bare thumb under Artemis's eyes before she could protest.

"Normal's overrated." She retorted, but smiled gratefully all the same as she caught Jade's hand before she could pull it away completely. "Thanks...Jade, really. It's...just gonna take time."

"I know sis. So, shall I tell Roy he can drop off little Lian?" Jade chuckled and nimbly jumped back, freeing her hand just as Artemis took a half hearted swing at her. "I'll take that as a yes. See you soon." With that, Jade stepped out of sight, behind a large stone platform that bore a statue of a winged angel on its flat surface, and promptly disappeared from the cemetery just like her codename, Cheshire, taken from Alice in Wonderland's stories, was prone to do when it pleased him. Artemis sighed but smiled despite her sister's disappearing act, feeling...a little better as she gave Wally's grave one last glance before stuffing her hands into her jacket's pockets, before she too made her far less dramatic exit in short order.

 **Paris, France The Eiffel Tower**

 **November 23rd, 2016**

 **9:42 PM**

Zeta beam technology, and being able to use it whenever the mood struck them, outside of missions anyway, had its advantages as 'Megan Morse' and Conner Kent stepped out of a seemingly decrepit telephone booth deep in a secluded alleyway, a flash of light the only hint that they'd teleported to the city in question. It didn't take them long to find themselves swept up in the crowds, the cheerful atmosphere quite infectious despite the late evening and the early winter chill as they made their way to the premier tourist attraction in the 'City of Lights.' An apt name, since Paris was lit up from one end of the city to the other with quant street lamps and more than a few street corners, while a number of strobe and multi colored lights gave off their respective luminances from behind store windows and apartment buildings.

Despite neither of their mouths moving however, the kryptonian super clone and the white martian shapeshifter were having quite the lively discussion between them. _I'm not saying it's weird that Roy and Jade have a baby girl, I just think it's weird that Jade's been going out of her way to drop Lian off on Artemis every chance she gets._ Conner stated as he followed after the petite redhead just a few steps ahead of him, their hands joined together as she excitedly dragged him behind her.

 _I think that's her way of helping Artemis… and it might actually be working. Artemis would never admit it, but she really loves little Lian, no matter how much she complains about her._ M'gann replied with a small smile on her face, having disguised herself as a Caucasian young woman. _Though who could blame her? She's adorable._

Her slightly tanned skin was practically glowing from her more than evident feelings about Artemis's baby niece as she turned to look over her shoulder at the black haired 'young man' hot on her heels. Her round, smooth, lightly freckle covered cheeks flushed with warmth as her amber hued eyes practically glowed at the very thoughts circulating in her head as she used her free hand to straighten her shortly cropped head of soft, cherry red of hair, tucking a strand behind her ear before letting her long, delicate fingers fall to the bottom of her long sleeved, deep red cardigan, straightening out the wrinkles although a mere thought could have done the same thing since her entire wardrobe was made from her martian bio-clothes. Dark jeans clung to her long if slender legs, with a pair of dark blue sneakers adorning her feet.

 _She's also pretty smart. Barely nine months old and I swear she called Roy 'dada'._ Conner, for all his blunt moodiness, couldn't help the little smile on his face, nor the gleam in his pale blue eyes as they found a clear path to their destination at last. Conner, in typical fashion, hadn't bothered to dress up much at all despite their plans to have a romantic weekend in Paris. Despite his admittedly straightforward approach to fashion, among other things, Conner looked good in his typical black, long sleeved shirt with its classic S shield hidden beneath his brown leather jacket which he kept zipped up more to appear as mundane as possible than anything else. Dark blue fatigues adorned his long, stocky legs, tucked into thigh high black combat boots. Even beneath the coat though, there was no mistaking the fact he was powerfully built and it was a safe bet that he could likely take a beating, with piercing dark blue eyes and a near perpetual frown on his otherwise handsome, strong jawed and angular cheeked face, a head of jet black hair that didn't go past his ears nestled atop his head.

 _Mmhm._ M'gann agreed and looked at Connor from the corner of her brown eyes.

 _Don't get any ideas. We're a little young to be starting a family just yet._ Still, the thought had its appeal, he'd be lying if he said otherwise, but he was barely four years old, from a chronological standpoint anyway, and they had the rest of their lives yet to figure things out. Despite his flat refusal though, he gently pulled M'gann into his hard, muscular chest and smiled as he gently pushed her head back with his thumb and forefinger, before proceeding to deeply kiss her soft, pink lips. Pulling away some time later, with the Eiffel Tower looming over them, Conner 'said', _But there are few places I'd rather be than with you, M'gann._

 _Conner…_ Her lightly freckled cheeks turned several shades brighter as she pulled a strand of her red hair back behind her ear, her brown eyes, flecked with slight red around the iris, gleamed with her abject approval of what she was feeling as well as hearing from the super clone, holding her against him. _Would you...consider retiring? N-not right now,_ she was quick to add when his eyes widened comically at the mere suggestion, _but one day soon._

 _What brought this on all of a sudden?_ He asked as they began to walk once more towards the long line that meandered away from the tower itself. He forgot all about their destination though when M'gann let slip an image of Wally's face, something he should've expected, but it still took him by surprise as he looked away. Of course she was upset by his passing, they all were, so it made sense she'd consider quitting their superhero lives if it meant they'd be able to be happy together for however long they were around, which in M'gann's case, meant she'd be around for a very long time. No one could say for sure how long Conner would live, but if he was even remotely similar to the real Superman in that regard, chances were good he'd be around a good long while himself.

But as had been proven with Wally, with Tula before him, and a number of other heroes that he could name, the future was uncertain. So when M'gann spoke again, Conner made it a point to listen intently to every word, his eyes focused solely on M'gann's 'human' face. _While I agree that we're not ready to buy a house or to start settling down, I don't want us to wait too long on the off chance….something happens to one or both of us._

 _ **Nothing's**_ _going to happen._ Conner stated with steely conviction, and put a hand to the back of M'gann's head as she leaned into his chest while his other hand fell to the small of her back. She was right to worry, but he wasn't going to let her feel such uncertainty, such fear of an unknown tomorrow, not if he had anything to say about it. But reassuring her was an easy enough feat since their telepathic link allowed his emotions to filter through as surely as his thoughts, and while the link went both ways, the waves of love and warmth he emanated were able to gently wash away the cold fear and sorrow he felt pouring off of her in turn. _We all know what this job entails, M'gann, but we can't surrender, not when there's still a lot we have left to achieve._ Pulling her tighter against him, Conner ran his hand along her spine, making small, soothing circles against her. _I'm scared of losing anyone else too, even though we went into this with the knowledge it was a possibility. But life itself is dangerous, M'gann, but we keep going on despite the risks. I'm trying not to belittle your feelings-_

 _N-no, I know. It's just…_ Conner's sad, understanding smile was as much felt as seen by the martian when she looked up, but whatever she was going to say was left unfinished as she shook her head against Conner's chest. A slow, grateful smile spread across her face at last, and she sighed contently despite her lingering doubts. _I probably sound pretty silly right now._

 _No, you don't._ Conner whispered in her thoughts as his hands moved to her shoulders. _And I miss him too, he's one of the first people I ever met when he, Dick, and Kaldur went into Cadmus Labs to investigate a seemingly random fire, set by Dubbilex for the sole purpose of drawing the attention of the Justice League. Instead, he got three sidekicks that were tired of the League keeping secrets from them, and I got three friends, and more importantly, my freedom, all on that same day. Then you, Artemis, and Zatanna came around shortly afterwards, and before I knew what had happened, I found myself surrounded by a 'family' I will always be thankful and grateful for. So yes, I miss Wally, Artemis lost her lover and I lost a brother that day, but your feelings matter too M'gann._ Putting his forehead against hers, M'gann closed her eyes and simply basked in Conner's presence, in and out of her mind. While it was only a few moments, Conner was glad to note that her emotional state had vastly improved by the time they parted. _Better?_

M'gann's brown eyes gleamed brightly as she took his right hand in hers and brought them up to her cheek with a firm nod. _Yeah. Let's go._

 **The Watchtower, geosynchronous orbit above Earth**

 **November 23rd, 2016**

 **3;17 PM**

Kaldur'ahm, his hands crossed over his chest, looked over the redhead's shoulder as Barbara Gordon, another member of the Bat family and a very talented hacker, more so than Dick by far, continued to type at the holographic keyboard in front of her as image after image flashed in front of their eyes. "Still no luck Kaldur." She replied with a sad shake of her head as she looked over her left shoulder. Possessed of a slender, muscular build, one used to acrobatic feats as any member of the Bat clan were known for, Barbara was equal parts beautiful, intelligent, and undisputed combat prowess as her dark blue eyes fell somewhat. "Whatever's going on in Metropolis, none of the usual spots are turning up any new leads."

"Keep the sweep going for as long as you can Barbara. We need to figure out where these people have disappeared to." Barbara nodded, her long mane of auburn hair, tied into a ponytail, bounced against her back as she turned back to the massive computer array in front of her, her fingers soon tapping furiously away once more. Hacking into every street cam, security feed, and satellite she could gain access to, Barbara and Kaldur were busy trying to locate any trace of where dozens of people had seemingly vanished into thin air. The only reason they knew anything about it was simple, they'd noticed unusual seismic activity at the sight of the latest string of seemingly random abductions, but so far, only the homeless in the shining beacon that was Metropolis, the City of Tomorrow and the adopted home of Superman himself, had been targeted.

Letting his tattooed arms fall to his sides so that his webbed hands fell to his hips, Kaldur narrowed his pale green eyes when he saw something of interest. Running a hand across the back of his shortly cropped head of blonde hair, the Atlantean nodded for her to pause the sweep. Barbara nodded in turn before she tapped a short series into the blue and white keyboard, and pulled up the image before blowing it up and enhancing it as much as she could. "What is that?" Kaldur asked as he leaned forward, trying to make sense of what they were staring at.

"Well since it's a little late for Halloween, your guess is as good as mine." Barbara replied as she too stared at the creature, half covered in shadow, that they'd caught on one of the various feeds as it disappeared into an alleyway. What they could see of it though filled both heroes with an unnatural dread as they glanced at each other before Barbara rewound the frozen feed frame by frame. When she'd backed it up enough so they could get a better look, both heroes had more reason to be concerned because what stared back was clearly not human. "Hostile contact situation again?"

"It would seem so." Kaldur replied as his eyes took in the creature frozen on the screen before them. Even with Barbara's efforts to enhance the image, the dark shadows and the late hour made it difficult to see the entirety of the entity, but they could see more than enough to discern a great deal about its appearance as it dragged an unconscious, blonde haired woman away by the back of her gray sweat shirt, her forehead damp and slick with blood from where it'd no doubt struck her. As for the creature itself, to call it ugly would have been a kindness.

Deep set, gray and black eyes peered at the screen in a sunken, almost skeletal face. With its bald head facing directly at the camera, Kaldur could see it had no visible ears to speak of, but it was its misshapen maw, filled with jagged, razor sharp teeth that worried him, as did its sickly, dark yellow skin pulled a bit too tightly over its skull, just visible black veins running across its flesh. And that was saying nothing about its crude, yet cleverly constructed, bone and flesh like armor, woven in such a way to replicate a much more traditional suit of leather armor. The crude yet sharp iron axe in its free hand, the bony handle splotched with fresh crimson as it was gripped tightly between its fingers, would no doubt prove deadly if they made the mistake of underestimating the creature, especially if it wasn't alone.

"Whatever that thing is," Kaldur and Barbara both jolted upright when another voice tore them back to the present as a veritable, cascading wave of voluminous, raven black hair filled their vision as Zatanna Zatara put her weight on the side of Barbara's high back computer chair, "it certainly won't be winning any beauty pageants."

"When did you get back Zat?" Barbara asked, smiling a little as she relaxed despite the mystery currently in front of them. To that end, she nodded her head as her smile faded to a much more grim visage, her hands folded just beneath her chin.

"Just a few minutes ago, it turns out Hawaii's nice this time of year, although chasing down Arsenal wasn't all it was cracked up to be." Zatanna replied, her cyan eyes losing little of their luster even as they affixed themselves upon the entity on screen. "So what are we planning to do about this thing?" The sorceress supreme asked, all business as she cocked her right hip to the side, her slender arms crossed just beneath her chest.

"We'll need to get a team together to investigate Metropolis's underground, starting with the subway and sewer systems where these seismic disturbances are the most prevalent. Whatever that thing is, it could merely be a lost being, trying to figure out where it is and scared for its life, or it could be a scout for an impending invasion. Either way, we can't let it go unchallenged, not with it clearly taking hostages." Kaldur stated firmly as he gestured towards the screen for emphasis, to which the two women nodded in abject agreement.

"Well, not that I needed an excuse to get out of these high heels, _but…_ " Zatanna trailed off before she shouted an incantation in her typical backwards speech, just as the black, low cut shimmering dress she was in was enshrouded in smoke, along with the rest of the magician, before the smoke cleared a few seconds later. When it did, Zatanna stood in her superhero costume which looked more appropriate to a master magician about to step on stage than a scouting mission. In its place was a black jacket with a white undershirt, a matching white bolo tie around her long, slender neck, and a pair of gray pants and black leather boots that went up to her knees. "That's better." She smirked before her smile faded just as quickly, her gaze settling on the screen. "Who are you planning to take with you?"

"Yourself if you're up for it, as well as Wonder Girl, Lagoon Boy, and Blue Beetle once Nightwing gets back with the others from transporting Parasite back to his cell in Arkham. His Scarab could prove invaluable in translating and hopefully talking to whatever that thing is, so we might figure out what it wants and why it's here." Even as the words left his mouth though, Kaldur had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy, not if its monstrous appearance was anything to go by. But he pushed those thoughts aside before turning to Zatanna more fully while Barbara kept looking for anything more they could use. "We'll likely have a few hours before then, so get what rest you can."

"Will do," she firmly stated and started away, but before she had crossed the large, circular chamber, Zatanna turned, her gaze heavy on the Atlantean's back, "and Kaldur, it's good to have you back with the rest of us." Kaldur smiled over his right shoulder as Zatanna's grim visage melted to a much more cheerful one. "Babs."

"Zat. Sorry to hear you didn't get Arsenal locked down, but at least us girls are back together." Zatanna laughed then as Barbara chuckled, looking away just long enough to shoot the sorceress supreme a playful, mischievous grin while Kaldur simply shook his head in amusement. It truly did feel good to be surrounded by his friends, his 'family', once more, but once Zatanna had walked away, Barbara turned her attention on him next. "Why not have Conner and M'gann tag along?"

"Because they need the time off, and besides, I wouldn't feel right in dragging them into a simple scouting mission, not when it's clear they need time away from the team and the League both." Kaldur replied convincely enough, but Barbara's narrowed eyes suggested she didn't completely buy his reasoning, as sound as it seemed on the surface.

"The fact M'gann mistakenly shattered your mind when most everyone thought you had killed Artemis has nothing to do with it I'm sure." Barbara muttered before she sighed, knowing immediately she had crossed a line when Kaldur audibly grimaced at the reminder. Looking down at the floor, Barbara slowly looked up with a sigh. "My point being, you and her need to have a long chat. She might have undid the damage she caused, but you can't keep avoiding her, Kaldur."

"It's….just been awkward, trying to talk to her since that day. I've forgiven her," Kaldur was quick to say when Barbara glanced over her shoulder, "especially since even without her telepathy, I know that she was nearly destroyed by her guilt, but she hasn't forgiven herself, not completely."

"And you'd rather not open up the wound if you can help it." Barbara finished for him as she sighed and nodded in understanding. She didn't like it, but she understood. All the while, she did her best to follow the trail the creature had taken through the sewers by hacking into the various security cameras scattered in the underground. No easy feat since long stretches of tunnel were devoid of cameras she could hack, but she wasn't one to give up easily. "Perhaps talking to her would help with that more than you might think Kaldur."

"Maybe….it doesn't help that I've seen the doubt in her eyes, the uncertainty that she even wants to continue on this road we started all those years ago when Dick, Conner, myself and...Wally, initially founded Young Justice. Talking about it now might push her to make a rash decision, and while I'd not begrudge her if she decided to quit this life, I'd rather not be the cause behind her doing so." Not for his own sake, as Barbara now knew, but rather M'gann's. Kryptonians weren't the only ones with exceedingly hard heads after all, and the white martian was still fairly young as far as martian maturity was concerned, putting her about in her late teen years, with all the emotional angst that came with it.

"And everyone knows wherever she goes, Conner would follow." Barbara stated, to which Kaldur nodded his head in grim agreement. It was no secret to anyone that the two were joined at the hip once more, and that they were deeply in love with each other. It only made sense that they'd either stay together or leave together, depending on what the other wanted and how convincing they could be.

Whatever his personal feelings on the matter, Kaldur would respect the two's decision if and when the time came for them to make a choice. For now he put it out of his mind, just as he heard Barbara stiffen in her seat, a startled gasp escaping her mouth. Looking up, he immediately felt a wave of horror and revulsion before he stilled, centering himself almost as quickly as Barbara did moments later.

"This is turning out to be much bigger than we thought." He was no longer doubtful about what was going on deep beneath the streets of Metropolis when his pale green eyes focused solely upon the screen, his face becoming hard as stone while his webbed hands clenched into bloodless fists. Without a word needing to be said, Barbara activated the secure channel for the entirety of Young Justice. "Aqualad to all squads, pull back and return to the Watchtower. We have a hostile invasion on our hands brewing beneath the streets of Metropolis."

"I'll get Batman on the line, hopefully we can put a stop to whatever these things are." Gesturing to the screen, Kaldur didn't waste time in acknowledging her or the horrific live feed that was on display before them. The only reason they were able to see anything at all was because of the immensely large stone chamber that opened up into a long abandoned sewer tunnel. The camera had an unobstructed view of what was going on below, despite the distance and the limited angle, but it was enough to give the two heroes an idea of what they were up against. He was just glad there was no audio to go with it as dozens, possibly hundreds more of these twisted creatures milled about, most of them covered in the blood of those they had dragged down to the ever expanding network of tunnels they had begun to dig.

Their helpless slaves, even if they wore no chains, were given crude digging implements before shoved towards the nearest wall. Some of them pulled those too weak to continue aside only to viciously tear them apart with their crude, wicked weapons, or their jagged teeth and filthy looking claws in full view of the rest of those still able to dig. Just out of sight, Barbara could see what looked like a forge and a much larger creature, wearing a suit of heavy plate covered in wicked looking spikes, pounding at an equally large anvil. Despite their bestial appearance, it was obvious there was something driving them beyond sheer animal impulse, which made them all the more disturbing in the young woman's mind as she too got up from her seat, but not before sending the feed to Batman. As much as it made her stomach do flips in equal parts shock and revulsion at the mere idea, Barbara got to work in trying to find another angle into the expanding network of tunnels. Every scrap of intel they could get now would save them a lot of headaches later.

 **End Notes: Vergil1989:** And _that_ is how you start a story. D Granted, I liked our Arkham Asylum opening, loved it really, but a new take on what we started some time ago seemed appropriate now that we have a far better idea of what we're after. That and it helps all of the hype for all of those live action TV shows, Arrow, Flash, Gotham, etc, has worn off for us both, myself more so, so we won't be trying to cram every side character and their mothers into the same continuity, which overloaded us to no end once we got started getting the two main groups together. There's enough characters in Dragon Age Origins alone, so making our work that much harder will only serve to burn us out that much quicker if we're not careful. Besides, Young Justice has a lot of good characters in its own right that we don't need to include EVERYTHING ever put out by the folks in DC lol. Jokes aside, we hope everyone enjoys this and we apologize for both the delay and the fact we couldn't finish the original.

On a more serious note though, Arsenal having gone rogue makes sense, even though they'll likely find a way to rationalize his returning to Young Justice at some point during the promised 3rd Season, (which I am definitely excited about lol). For this however, with all that he did during Season 2, and the fact he was rightfully kicked from both the Justice League and Young Justice, it made sense to me that he'd need to be brought in by force now, especially since he may or may not be working for the Light these days due to how twisted he's gotten up inside. It's a sad fact that his clone is far better person than he is, but for this he'll serve a much bigger purpose than simply being an asshole lol. As for what that role is, stick around and you'll see what it'll be. D

Take care and have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone. (Having finished this the day of after our own celebration, it counts as still being Turkey Day. : P)

P.S. As a quick side note, for those on AO3 seeing this despite a fresh update to the original Welcome to the New Age, I fully intend to upload the rest of the chapters for the original work this is based off of, I'm just giving it a few days before I do another chapter, but there's still quite a few yet to go before that one 'ends' due to the aforementioned circumstances, so don't worry about that so much. I just want to apologize, again, although I seem to do that a lot, for not finishing it the first time around. At any rate, take care everyone. And hold onto your hats, this is going to get...rough, a fair bit sooner.


	2. Into the Darkness

**Author Notes:** Definite warnings for this one. For those that know, darkspawn aren't exactly shy about what they do with their 'slaves', so expect a lot of blood, gore, violence, and examples of monsters eating people. The 'other stuff' darkspawn are known for will be coming later. You have been warned.

 **Into the Darkness**

 _War is coming_

 _War is crying out_

 _The world is shaking_

 _The sky is falling down - the sky is falling down_

 _The Phantoms: Into the Darkness_

 **The Watchtower, geosynchronous Orbit above Earth**

 **November 23rd, 2016**

 **4;00 PM**

"Superman is currently offworld." Batman declared from the holographic screen as he looked impassively at his protege, having since been informed of the situation at large. "Most of the League is further tied down by events all around the globe, riots, attacks by metas, and worse. We suspect that these seemingly random acts, are a part of a diversionary campaign orchestrated by what's left of the Light, something that's allowed things in Metropolis to escalate as far as they have."

"Why?" Zatanna asked aghast and looked from Nightwing to Batman and back. "What could they possibly hope to gain from this?" Whether she meant the creatures themselves or the Light was hard to say, but in the end it didn't matter.

"Unknown, but as long as it remains unclear as to what these things are, we can't dismiss anything. It might even be a potential bioweapon gone wrong, we simply lack the information to be certain." Batman informed them and glared at them hard, the already dark confines of his cowl darkening further. "Your team is ready to defend Metropolis, but the sheer scale of what you sent me indicates that you lack the manpower to handle this alone. We'll need to alert the authorities to this situation. Nightwing and Aqualad, you have full command of this operation until further notice."

"Understood, where will you be?" Aqualad asked, somewhat confused since he had expected the older hero to take command. Still, if this threat was as big as they feared, then they'd need to have everyone on the same page, working together to drive this newest invasion back. No easy feat with the likes of Gilford G. Godfrey prepared to try and sow dissension and distrust among the population, which would no doubt be aimed at the League and the team.

But Batman's monotoned response pulled Kaldur back to the present. "This _is_ Metropolis, I'm going to get ahold of Luthor and have a chat with him."

"Got it, might wanna ask him if he knows anything about Arsenal since you're gonna go after Lex anyway." Nightwing chimed in, the grim set of his jaw making it clear he wasn't any happier about the situation than any of them.

"I'll see what I can do." Batman promised them with a curt nod. "Batman out."

"So… who of us is gonna break it to the boys in blue that they've got monsters crawling beneath the pavement?" Nightwing asked with a humorless chuckle once Batman's face had vanished from sight. "Probably best if Zatanna does it, she looks pretty even if she's the bearer of bad news."

"Gee thanks." Zatanna groused back and lightly hit his shoulder with the palm of her hand.

"Ow." Nightwing playfully pouted as he made to rub at his 'bruised' shoulder.

"Oh, stop it you big baby. I'll take care of informing our friends, and you two take care of everything else." Zatanna told him and marched to the nearest zeta beam transport tube. "Good luck, Dick." While her cyan eyes had fallen on both Kaldur and Richard equally, no one doubted her first thought was for the boy in black as she disappeared in short order in a gold flash of light.

"Thanks Zat." Nightwing said to the empty transport tube and turned to Aqualad. "You ready for this?"

"Are you asking me if I am ready to coordinate an entire city during such a crisis? I doubt it." Kaldur replied honestly, unable to help the trepidation in his voice. Despite this, the grim determination in his pale green eyes and the firm set of his jaw said he'd still do his best to do exactly that.

"Yeah, me neither." Richard agreed easily and stretched his arms over his head, a small groan leaving his mouth as he bent back. "Well, no point complaining about it. Let's get to it." Turning to the large group of ex sidekicks and heroes in their own right, which numbered even those that had once 'allied' with Lex Luthor for a time, Dick crossed his arms over his chest before jerking his head to the large screen behind him just as Barbara pulled up the live feed. He waited for the dumbstruck, horrified reactions to die down before going into what little they actually knew about the creatures in question.

"Alright, now that I have your attention, let's go over what we know. These things have been abducting people for about five, six days tops, and apparently they aren't shy about killing innocent civilians and forcing them to work for them beneath the city. We don't know why they're doing all this, how they got here, or what they're here for. No idea about their strengths or weaknesses, let alone what they're capable of. That said, I don't plan on letting it stay that way." Here he paused and looked at all those present. All were watching him with rapt attention, clearly taking the situation very seriously. Good, they couldn't accept anything less. "To counter our lack of intelligence, I'll be leading a team of volunteers into the Metropolis underground, our target will be at least one of these creatures so that we can give it a thorough examination and hopefully interrogation."

"Which means," Kaldur began as he took a step forward, drawing everyone's gaze on him at the same time, "we'll need to take one of these entities alive if at all possible. Blue Beetle, do you think you can handle it?"

"Yeah jeffe, we'll get one of 'em locked down." Jaime stated firmly, his mask's glowing amber eyepieces fully fixed upon the Atlantean's face. "Once we're in close, the scarab should be able to do a pretty in-depth scan of these things, giving us a better idea of what we're up against."

"What about the civilians?" Impulse asked and stepped forward. "I mean we can't just leave them down there!"

"I agree, trust me I do." Dick told him firmly, but shook his head just as quickly. "But we can't simply rush in there until we know more. If we die down there, we'll help neither them or any other potentially future victims."

"I- I gotcha." Impulse muttered quietly and clenched his fists, clearly unhappy with it, but he was unable to come up with a counter argument either. He perked up only a little when Jaime put a hand on his shoulder, but the grim mood was still palpable between the two of them.

"Good." Nightwing told him and fixed him with a serious look. "Impulse, I want you, Robin, and as many volunteers as you need to patrol the streets, rescue those in need if you can, and keep your distance otherwise."

Tim Drake, the current Robin, nodded his head before glancing towards several of the assembled heroes. "We'll get it done Nightwing."

"Alright. Until we know more, I want each and everyone of you to be cautious, try to keep them at range if you can."

"Got it." Jaime replied with a thumbs up. "And since you asked for volunteers for the sewage trek, I'm your first one."

"Good to know, anyone else?"

"Uh… me?" Garth said hesitantly and lifted his left hand above his head. "Though… I'm not sure how much help I'll be if I can't touch them." He mused, his usual trademark grin no longer present as he tapped at the bottom of his chin. "Hmm….tricky now that I think about it."

"You'll figure something out." M'gann reassured him as she stepped forward, no longer Caucasian as her skin changed to its much more traditional green, her clothes similarly shifting to her black superhero costume with its red X on its front. "If Blue can't get one to talk….I can try to mind link with one of them. That and my camouflage would allow me to get close without being noticed, provided they aren't able to see through it." The slight waver in her voice was heard by Conner, Kaldur, and Dick, but they chose not to comment on it.

"Alright, so Jaime, M'gann, Garth and me." Nightwing noted with a short nod. "Sounds good to me. We need to be discreet and a large group would make that impossible. The rest of you follow Aqualad as he devises strategies depending on the information we can get him. While Zatanna's already getting in contact with the local authorities, it might not be a bad idea to call any friends and family in the city and tell them it might be a good idea to leave town for a few days." No one argued his logic on that point, not with what was brewing beneath Metropolis's streets.

Once they began to disperse to gather their equipment and to take care of other, more personal business, Tye Longshadow, one of Jaime's oldest friends, approached the pair as he adjusted the feathered headband he wore around his dark skinned forehead, his jet black hair falling over his slender shoulders. "Be careful down there Jaime."

"You too Tye. You head down to Metropolis, do your best to keep each other safe." He said as he nodded towards Tye's own 'team', all of them having been formerly allied with Lex Luthor after the Reach had kidnapped and experimented on them all. Still, that had been several months ago now, and Jaime had made his own share of dumb mistakes, allowing a Reach controlled Green Beetle to trick him into rebooting his scarab chief among them. They'd all grown for the better since though as he held out his right hand to the young man before him.

"You too." Tye replied as he grasped the offered limb, his 'shadow' showing its face in the form of an orange astral projection as it emanated outward for a brief moment, only emphasising the point he was trying to make. "As for us, we'll manage."

"You got that right." Virgil declared cheerfully as he leaned an arm on Tye's right shoulder while Eduardo and Asami grinned, making their thoughts known in their own way. Static Shock was all smiles, but it was easy to see he was just as worried as the rest of them. "Still, I ain't envious of what ya got goin' for ya Jaime. I'd rather have the soft gig, what with gettin' people to safety and all."

"Yeah, can't blame you for that." Jaime agreed easily and chuckled. "I mean at least I got the beetle between me and the monsters, you wouldn't be so lucky." Jaime grinned though when Virgil raised his right hand, and summoned an orb of crackling electricity. "'Course, you and your ability to control anything with a magnetic charge makes ya pretty nice to have around in a tight spot."

"And don't ya forget it BB. It helps Black Lightning's been a pretty good mentor to me and the guys." Virgil said as he jerked a thumb to the rest of Tye's group. Just as quickly though, his smile faded as he closed his hand, dismissing the crackling orb before grasping Jaime at the shoulder as he did the same. "Watch your head out there."

"You too Virgil. Well, better get to it." With one last wave over his shoulder, Jaime's armored back began to bulge outward before two, translucent, gossamer like wing frames appeared that allowed him to fly over to the zeta beam platforms just as Dick, M'gann, and Beast Boy assembled, with Nightwing punching in the coordinates for Metropolis. Casting one last look at the rest of the groups as they bid farewells to their fellows, Jaime couldn't help but wonder who they'd be losing this time if things went badly.

Dick for his part, locked eyes with Robin, and they shared a grim nod with each other. They were of the Bat family of heroes, if anyone truly had a grasp of what they were walking into, it was them, and they'd already calculated the odds as they stood. And at the moment, it didn't look good.

As for Conner, he didn't need to meet M'gann's gaze to feel her in his head as he too boarded a zeta platform with a large group of their fellow heroes. _Come back to me, M'gann_

 _I will Conner._ She promised, and in the next instant, they were surrounded by gold light...

 **Metropolis, Illinois: City Underground**

 **November 23rd, 2016**

 **4;17 PM**

"Ugh dude...can't say I missed the smell, hermano." Jaime groaned as he waved a hand in front of his face since even through the Scarab's mask, the filters did little to cut down on the stench as he floated a foot off the ground, with Garfield riding on his shoulder as a carrier pigeon. M'gann too kept her feet from touching the steel, slime covered tunnel they were trudging through, but to look at Nightwing, one would think he was strolling through a park as he determinedly walked forward without a word.

 _At least I have a perch this time instead of having to become an alligator again when we were chasing down Clayface._ Beast Boy replied happily, able to 'speak' at all despite having transformed thanks to M'gann having established a telepathic link between them, both so he could actually share his thoughts, but also so that they could remain as quiet as possible as they got closer to where their unknown assailants had set up shop.

 _So far there's no sign of them._ Nightwing noted as he looked the over the walls. _Considering how much they've already dug, I'd expected some sign of their presence to show up by now._

 _Like what jeffe?_ Jaime asked, although he could make a few educated guesses as his flight jerked to the side when a large dollop of green sludge fell from a grate just above his head. _Ugh...on the other hand, I'm not sure I want to find these things since you'd have to be pretty loco to_ _ **want**_ _to live down here._

 _Perhaps we simply haven't reached the edge of their domain?_ M'gann offered, her gaze hardening as she jerked her head to the right. _Hold on, I think I have something. It….feels like rage._ She shivered despite the steel in her voice as she put a hand on Nightwing's shoulder, a silent gesture to indicate they were getting close to something. To make it worse, the rest of the team could feel, just on the edge of their psychic link, a veritable wave of anger and worse. It was like a miasmic cloud, threatening to choke them all until M'gann strengthened her mental defenses, lessening the effect it had on them at the same time.

 _Alright Miss M, you heard her. Alpha Squad, be careful, let's just hope this is a small patrol we're coming up on._ A grim nod later, and Nightwing looked up to see a narrow vent shaft that would take him to the tunnel M'gann had since pointed down as they stopped at a four way junction. Jumping up into the shaft, Dick disappeared from sight, silent as his namesake while the rest of the team found their own ways forward. Garth stayed on Jaime's shoulder as he flew down the tunnel, sticking to the shadows as best he could. M'gann however, phased right into the wall, choosing to bypass traditional methods entirely. _And Garth, be careful._ She called out once she had disappeared completely into the tunnel's steel wall, her voice full of concern for the young shapeshifter that was, despite not being related to each other in the slightest, her 'blood brother'.

 _I'll be careful, you too sis._ Garth replied, his gaze narrowing somewhat as he tried to muster the same quiet determination all of the senior heroes seemed to naturally radiate with every breath. Turning to Jaime as they reached the end of the tunnel, they shared a look when they heard soft growls and grunts some distance ahead and to the left.

Landing on the edge of this newest junction, Jaime raised his right hand as his blue and black gauntlet transformed without a sound, becoming his 'staple gun'. _Attempting to translate,_ the scarab stated, its words only audible to Jaime even through the mind link as both he and Beast Boy tensed in anticipation of whatever came next. It only took about twenty, thirty seconds, but the scarab growled something that sounded suspiciously like a curse to Jaime before saying, _it is no use, they seem to lack a comprehensible form of communication. All I can hear are unintelligible growls. Not compatible._

 _So, what's the word?_ Dick asked as his masked face appeared some distance further along the tunnel as he looked down from the vent shaft, having found another exit in the time it'd taken Jaime to eavesdrop.

 _No go jeffe, either the scarab simply can't understand them or they have no language to speak of. Not compatible, to quote the scarab._ Raising his staple gun, Jaime waited for the signal as he peered around the edge of the tunnel. What he saw had him wishing he hadn't. "That….is just nasty." He whispered as loud as he dared.

 _You're telling me._ Dick replied as he too grimaced, biting back what had been about to bubble forth from his stomach.

At the end of the left tunnel, which emptied out into a large, square chamber, which in turn split off into yet several more directions, one of which went further down, a rusty metal ladder going further down, a metallic grate serving as the floor. It was here that they saw several of the monsters, all of them dressed in the crude flesh, bone, and metal armor that seemed commonplace for them, gathered around a pile of mutilated corpses. Among the blood, dirt, and sludge, something else had begun to take over parts of the sewer, centered around the metal grate at their feet. A purple and fleshy, writhing fungus of some kind had begun to slowly creep over every surface as it grew up the sides of the center tunnel, filling in parts of the grate and the spaces between the ladder itself. Some of it had taken the shape of orb like protrusions, several inches wide, with dark purple tendrils of the same spreading outward in every direction.

 _Okay I am officially whelmed._ Beast Boy's thoughts made it clear he was as disgusted and sick as the rest of the team, his pale green eyes as wide as saucers as the dark green feathers around his neck puffed up, clearly agitated by what they were looking at. It didn't help the humanoid creatures were busy gorging themselves on the corpses around them, noisily chewing rended flesh and pieces of bone while one seemed content to wring out every drop of blood it could from an arm it held above its mouth before devouring the limb. Once it was gone, it picked up a fresh limb and began to repeat the process. _I think I'm going to be sick…._ Garth groaned, and lowered his beak to the side.

 _Transmitting data._ Dick told them and used the holographic interface on his arm to send the video feed directly to Aqualad, making sure to zoom in on the strange protrusions and dark purple tendrils on the ground as well as the monsters. _Blue Beetle, see if you can get any data from here. If not, be ready to engage them. Miss Martian, hold back for now, your earlier reaction to them touching our connection concerns me._

 _R-right._ M'gann offered in response, remaining hidden in the wall of the tunnel for the moment as she pulled back the reach of her telepathic field so that it was only the team that felt her presence.

 _On it._ Jaime replied and pointed one of the more sophisticated scanners, his off hand transforming into a multi pronged gun of sorts, which emitted no detectable energy of any kind. Waving it over the creatures as best he could while remaining hidden, Jaime cocked an 'ear' to the Scarab as it began its scan. The seconds ticked by with the only sounds audible being the creatures as they continued to gorge themselves on the flesh of their victims. _Huh? What is this?_ He muttered and frowned at the results as the scarab ran through what it'd detected. _I get basic data back, like a bone structure similar to that of humans, breathes oxygen, muscle seem to be roughly the same if not a bit stronger, more dense, but beyond that it's like their blood is giving me white noise. Not compatible again. This is starting to sound familiar. Either Apokoliptian tech or magic blocks the Scarab like this, and I'm gonna take a wild guess and say it's the latter._

 _Great, better let Zatanna know._ Dick noted and sent every bit of gathered date back to the Watchtower, including notes such as their suspected magical nature. That done, he turned back to the pair. _Anything else?_

 _Aside from that they don't seem to have anything special going for them, jeffe._ Blue Beetle told him with a shrug. _Or at least nothing I'm picking up on, their armor and weapons seem to be ordinary metal, well...what metal they used anyway._

 _Well, no time like the present I suppose._ Having put it off long enough, Nightwing tensed, prepared to spring out of the vent shaft, but he paused, his gaze falling to an understandably pale Garth. _Beast Boy, get it together. We need all hands on deck and I'd rather know now if you'd rather head back._

With a shake of his feathered head, Beast Boy narrowed his pale green eyes on the just visible leader of the team. _Huh? No way! If M'gann's stayin', I'm staying._

Satisfied that Garth was focused on the task at hand, at least for the moment, Nightwing wasted no more time as he shot out of the vent, silent as a shadow. Blue Beetle and Garth followed just behind him, the armor's gauntlets changing mid flight as Jaime aimed at the furthest of the group ahead of them, while Nightwing went in for the closest with Garth flying over his shoulder to scout out the area ahead, disappearing into the tunnel at the center of the next chamber. M'gann remained hidden, but they knew she'd find her place in the coming battle.

True to his namesake, Nightwing's first few strikes went completely unnoticed as the closest creature was hammered into the metal grate as he vaulted over its large shoulders, kick flipping off the front of its head on his way by before landing on a second some distance off. The rest stopped feasting to screech and scream in rage at having been interrupted, leaving them completely exposed as Jaime fired into their midst. Three more were soon pinned to the nearest wall, several glowing pieces of metal slamming into them, the sharpened ends of the 'staples' ensuring they wouldn't be going anywhere as arms, necks, and chests were trapped in place. The last two inexplicably found themselves a foot off the ground before they were forced to hit the ceiling hard, cracking the concrete with how hard they impacted before they were dropped. A split second later, M'gann phased into the room.

Among the midst of the blood splattered room, Nightwing's earlier smirk was nowhere to be found as he got up close to one of the unconscious monsters. "If this thing was ever human, it'd be impossible to tell without taking one of them back home." He mused even as he waved a hand in front of his nose. The stench was atrocious, a combination of filth, gore, and worse, but he did his best not to let it bother him as his high tech domino mask scanned the entity in its own way. While he didn't have the same level of sophistication as Jaime's scarab, Nightwing still had his own methods, courtesy of the WayneTech seeded through every Bat family superhero costume. "No detectable advanced tech, definite signs of some kind of freakish mutation. Liver, heart, lungs, at least those seem normal, but without getting it back to a lab, I don't think we're going to learn anything else here."

"Uh guys? We're missing one." Jaime said and pointed to where one of M'gann's slammed enemies had been, only for the three to see it had gotten up and slunk off.

"What the- I was sure it was out cold." M'gann protested as she spun in place, just in time to give a shout as a dagger was thrown from the shadows. She only had a split second to react as time slowed down to a crawl.

Her eyes began to glow an emerald green, and both Nightwing and Blue Beetle could only stare as the blade passed right through the martian. Having phased herself, it slammed into the wall, quivering in place as the blade found a new home in the concrete directly behind her. She didn't give the bald headed monster a second chance as her right hand shot up, and she jerked it back towards herself, about the same time the short, stout creature was pulled directly towards her. Nightwing was there to meet it, his right hand wrapped tightly around one of his black escrima stick. Catching it just below its wrinkled, gaunt chin, the creature fell onto its back before M'gann's feet, unmoving. " _Now_ it's out cold." M'gann stated, certain of it now as the glow to her eyes faded.

"BB, secure it, just in case." Nightwing ordered and watched as Jaime fixed the creature to ground with his staple gun. "We underestimated them once, I'm not doing it again."

 _Beast Boy to Nightwing, you need to get down here. You're gonna want to see this._ Before they could ask what it was he'd discovered, Garth sent a mental image of what he was looking at. Perched on a pipe that overlooked the hole, the same hole that the darkspawn had found their way up into the city sewers if they were to guess, Garth's revulsion was impossible to miss as they soon discovered the reason why once they had descended the central shaft.

Nightwing, having to stick to the ladder, was the last one down, but he too could only gawk when he saw what they were looking at. _I'd say this is a territory marker…._ He managed at last as his eyes took in the 'statue' that overlooked the edge of the hole that opened up into the earthen chamber below. To call it a statue was a bit of a stretch since it was more of a crude figure, roughly the shape of a dragon if he were to judge, made out of bones, _human_ bones as he could easily discern with both his training and experience.

Some of them were a pearly white, meaning they were fresh, brand new, while others had begun to show signs of wear and decay, visible cracks and bite marks all too easy to see where the marrow had likely been sucked out. As he stepped closer he could make out some sort of strange carvings in their surface, what it meant, if they even had a meaning he didn't know, but the marker certainly destroyed any lingering hopes of being able to reason with these beings.

He wrinkled his face in distaste as he saw pools of blood in front of the marker, and the clear hallmarks of bodies that had been dragged away. Perhaps for some sort of ritualistic sacrifice, or perhaps just a warning to any intruder bold enough to challenge them. Whatever the case, they needed to be stopped, and Nightwing looked towards his three companions, his face set in stone. M'gann only nodded her head while Jaime sighed, but he too didn't say a word as his glowing eyepieces narrowed in silent acknowledgement. Turning to Garth last, Nightwing was both proud and saddened by what he saw in the youth's green eyes as he alighted on M'gann's shoulder, the martian reaching up to soothingly run her fingers down his feathered back.

"Kaldur, I hope you're seeing this." Nightwing said quietly and shook his head with disgust.

"I am old friend." Kaldur's voice was a reassuring presence to the team. "Proceed with caution."

Whispering an acknowledgment, Nightwing knelt down on the edge of the hole, one hand at his right ear. "We're going in, keep your eyes peeled." Down into the depths they went, but if not for the fact there were plenty of naturally occurring stalagmites and rocky outcroppings, they would have been discovered right away as the team made their way to the back of the chamber. Peering out from beyond the rock formation that had been left untouched, they stared into the swarm, much closer than they'd have liked with what they'd seen so far. "Looks like there's several types of these things." Nightwing whispered as loud as he dared as his domino mask's eyepieces zoomed in, allowing him a better look at the activity below. "Those short, stocky ones we saw up top seem the most numerous."

"More humanoid looking ones further in jeffe." Jaime chimed in as he too swept over the immediate area, his gaze more focused on the digging 'crews' he could just see through the horde, hemmed in by noticeably taller, better equipped creatures that were just as twisted as their shorter compatriots. "Looks like they got the healthy lookin' abductees tunneling for 'em, just like in the video feed we saw at the Watchtower. Don't know what they're after, but they're industrious, I'll give 'em that." He did find it mildly curious that the forge they'd seen, with its attending monster, was nowhere to be found. He must have moved his little workshop.

Whatever the case, M'gann had since slipped through the floor, and found herself in another large chamber below much like the one above. _I think we're dealing with some kind of hive. There's more tunnels below, a lot more from what I can see from here._ The image she sent back showed the rest what the martian could see, her head just hanging through the rock above the horde, the rest of her hidden safely away in the ceiling. Slowly scanning the perimeter of the large cavernous space, they saw the numerous tunnel exits and pathways that wound away into the darkness, where yet more of the creatures came pouring out of at every turn, some leading away more of their captured slaves.

 _Any ideas on their numbers?_ Asked Nightwing, all business despite the steel in his voice as the mental images faded away, allowing him a chance to process what she'd sent back.

 _A lot._ M'gann told him, apologetic, all too aware that it wasn't a lot of help. _If this goes even further down, and each time we got chambers and tunnels like these…_

 _Yeah, I got it. We have a serious problem._ Nightwing agreed with a slight grimace. _Looks like the worst case scenario right now. We're gonna need the League on this one._

 _Assuming they can get the Light's minions under control, by then it might be too late to do anything!_ Garth protested as he once more landed on Jaime's shoulder. No sooner had the thought left his 'mouth' though, did they hear a large, ominous rumble. Looking to the far end of their cavernous chamber, they saw a large, horned, purple skin giant ambling out of much larger passageway, just big enough to allow it to stand to its full height of nine feet, easy, not counting its onyx black horns that curved upward, almost like a ram's. Large, thick metallic vambraces covered its muscle packed arms, and teeth as large as bricks filled its mouth as it walked upright on two legs despite a slight bend to its back. It wasn't the only one either as a second, third, and a fourth followed, making it clear the one in front was some kind of alpha because, even at their distance, they could see the lead giant was notably bigger than its brethren. _We definitely need Superboy down here for those things._

 _I'm starting to agree with you Beast Boy. We can't engage these things on our own anyway, not without being overrun. M'gann, pull back, we need to regroup._

 _One moment Nightwing, I think I might have found something._ Another image followed of M'gann having since slipped down to a third cavern, this one markedly….different, from the previous ones. For one, the walls and floor were absolutely covered in more of the fungus like growth that had begun to take over parts of the sewer and the caves below, large, pulsating 'orbs' of the stuff making it difficult to navigate the passageways into the chamber itself. The second was that a large, crude stone dias was being carved out by more of the monsters and their abductees, where M'gann wondered if something of great importance to the horde would be placed later since she couldn't see anything already present to suggest otherwise.

 _Mark it on the map, looks important to them. We better destroy it when we get the chance._ Nightwing ordered her and took mental note of the information M'gann had presented him with, not liking what it potentially meant one bit. The whole chamber was built like it would eventually house something important to these things with a very limited number of ways in or out. Furthermore, it was deep underground, which meant it wasn't easily accessible and the chamber itself only had a single entrance in comparison to all the others, meaning it was also easier to defend. _M'gann get back, we're leaving._ He told her resolutely, unwilling to risk any further delays.

 _On my way. Withdrawing now._ M'gann stated as she stepped back into the wall and phased through it before flying up through the stone once more. Appearing between Nightwing, Blue Beetle, and Garth, who visibly relaxed upon seeing her, she smiled, briefly, before meeting Nightwing's gaze. _I don't know what these things are, but we need to stop them._

 _We will. We'll take one of them with us on our way out. From there we'll make our next move._ M'gann mentally grimaced since she didn't need to see Dick's thoughts to know their next move would involve her trying to read their own captive's mind, something she wasn't looking forward to for several reasons, the cloying, almost suffocating air of intense rage and blind hatred chief among them. But if he noticed her discomfort, he didn't comment on it as Nightwing led the way back up and out of the sewer.

 **The Watchtower, geosynchronous orbit with Earth**

 **November 23rd, 2016**

 **5;21 PM**

Stepping out of the decontamination shower, although it was safer to call it a laser light show of sorts since there was no water filled with antibacterial mists or sprays to speak of, Nightwing breathed a fair bit easier as he and the team were cleared to enter the rest of the orbiting satellite, having zeta beamed back up into a sealed section of the station. Their 'guest' was thankfully still out cold as it was rolled out on its back on a steel gurney, stripped of anything that even remotely resembled a weapon, although they could hardly confiscate claws and teeth.

"Alright, get him in the lab, I want him secured and ready for questioning ASAP." Nightwing told the few heroes that were left in the Watchtower as M'gann, Jaime, and Garth went their own way, and lifted a hand to his ear, tapping at the communicator hidden there. "Kaldur, we got one. Is Zatanna back yet? We could use her expertise, Blue Beetle thinks they're magical in nature, and I'm inclined to believe him."

"She should return soon, but she ran into a few problems." Aqualad told him after a moment of hesitation as he made his way to the central chamber of the station, passing through a number of hallways, with heavy, airtight doors moving out of his way, serving to cut off parts of the space station in the case of a hull breach.

"Great, what now?" Nightwing grumbled, his patience having worn very thin after everything they'd born witness to in the last hour, hour and a half.

"We have no idea how it happened, but apparently one of Gordon's informants heard her talking to the police about what's going on, and now we have the media hounding us for answers." Kaldur'ahm answered, clearly unhappy with the situation they found themselves in. Stepping into the central chamber about that time, Nightwing was the first to see the news broadcast the Atlantean had pulled up for them.

G. Gordon Godfrey was a well known thorn in the Justice League's side, so Nightwing wasn't all that surprised to see the well maintained head of blonde hair set in the Caucasian man's lightly wrinkled face. Dark blue eyes set into his otherwise distinguished, handsome face swept from side to side. as if he were looking at a crowd rather than a set of cameras, his arms thrown out at his side. Dressed in a gray suit and matching gray tie, a pair of black suede shoes adorning his feet, Godfrey presented an image of professionalism with a knack for uncanny observations, but it was a well known fact he had an intense dislike for the aliens among the League and the team, yet he always seemed to know just a little too much about certain events. It hadn't taken much investigative work to establish a link between him and the Light.

True to form, his latest rant was just as 'well informed'. "It would seem the Justice League and their team of sidekicks are at it again folks! We've just received word that an unknown lifeform has been unleashed beneath the streets of Metropolis, and everyone's big blue boyscout is oh so coincidentally, conveniently, _absent_! The images we're about to show you strongly suggest that this isn't a new problem either." Godfrey ranted on the holographic screen and glared at the camera as part of his feed showed another cave, much like the one the team had discovered. Unlike theirs, this one was freshly dug out, with the creatures pouring out into an underground warehouse of some sort before the feed went dead when a stray arrow fired into the catwalks above, where a security guard was located, instead slammed into the camera itself. "I think we have a right to know why the Justice League hasn't done anything to inform, let alone protect us. In the city of tomorrow no less! I must warn our viewers the next images are extremely graphic." Following his declaration, the screen switched to the very same images Barbara had picked up of the monsters forcing humans to do their bidding as well as beginning to kill, and in some cases, eat those too weakened to continue working.

"How did he get his hands on that footage?" Nightwing muttered angrily as his masked eyes narrowed to slits.

"It seems most likely that the Light has kept its own eye on the situation developing beneath the streets of Metropolis." Aqualad supplied gravely, his face a calm mask that barely managed to hide his own anger at that tidbit of news.

"A logical deduction." Both young men jerked as Lex Luthor's bald head appeared beside the running commentary from Godfrey, which was automatically muted when the new transmission started. Lex Luthor was tall and was in good shape, being moderately built, a surprise given the fact he was a CEO of a multinational corporation called LexCorp. Long ago, his hair had all fallen out, leaving him bald, but his green eyes and high cheekbones hid an immense intellect and business savvy, wrapped in a seemingly polite, warm and charismatic persona that hid his shadowy inclinations from the general public. Dressed in a similar, perfectly tailored suit and tie, the powerful businessman was seated behind a metallic desk, his hands folded just beneath his strong chin, a small little wry smile on his face. "Nightwing, Aqualad, you boys look like you're having a long day. I just had a nice chat with Batman by the way, but as I told him before you start pointing fingers, you've begun to investigate what the Light has also discovered."

As much as they naturally suspected Luthor was lying through his teeth, Nightwing at least was willing to hear him out since the white collar prince of crime had informed them during the Reach's last moments on Earth, that the Light wanted to control Earth, not destroy it. Their interests, while ultimately self serving and unmistakably evil, meant that they'd do their part in trying to preserve their home as much as the heroes did in their own way. That didn't mean he would take anything Luthor said at face value though. "And you just happen to call just as Godfrey is giving us the third degree on international news. Gotta say Lex, your timing is a little too convenient, to quote your friend."

"Godfrey serves his purpose, and if nothing else he keeps you folks honest….well, more honest, than you tend to be otherwise." Luthor replied smoothly, as usual as unaffected by the veiled accusations as ever. Straightening his black tie, a new image appeared on Luthor's right. It was the warehouse they'd seen on Godfrey's broadcast. "This was taken in one of my storage facilities just an hour ago. From what our own scientists could tell, they're not particularly bright but they have quite the hardy constitution, and they seem to have an a strong, aggressive response to anything not like them, as you've no doubt determined for yourselves. We've since sealed the breach they made, but if they're truly tunneling beneath my old hometown, then it'll only be a matter of time before they hit a densely populated area. The Light has already deployed several teams of our own to kill and capture as many of these creatures as we can, for further study naturally, but I figured you'd want a chance to do your part. Unless of course you don't mind if my philanthropic efforts be the only ones the public remembers once the crisis is passed."

"We already have teams on the ground, but you no doubt knew that." Kaldur stated flatly, not finding the businessman's dry sarcasm amusing in the slightest. "And while you have the public fooled into believing you're an angel, we know otherwise."

"Better the devil you know than one you don't, eh boy?"

"In that we can at least agree." Kaldur replied before letting his arms fall to his side. "I take it Black Manta's troops are already on the move?"

"As are the League of Shadows, led once more by Ra's Al Ghul now that he's recovered, and Doctor Ivo's machines, yes, spearheaded by Deathstroke who's serving as our field commander. Klarion, Icicle Jr, Killer Frost, Psimon, Shimmer, Mammoth, Devastation, and the Terror Twins are also present and accounted for. All hands on deck, as they say, but if you wanted to know the status of your father, Aqualad, all you need do was ask instead of trying to cleverly beat around the bush." Lex smirked knowingly as Kaldur's eyes narrowed. With a wave of his hand, the warehouse feed was dismissed and quickly replaced with a live feed from one of Ivo's machines, its optics affixed on Deathstroke himself as he and his assembled troops marched into another of the sewer tunnels. "Deathstroke, the former sidekicks are curious about your progress, as am I."

" _Don't_ call us sidekicks." Nightwing grunted through clenched teeth even as he too turned his gaze to the screen in question. Ignoring the sight of Mercy, Lex's cybernetic bodyguard and 'secretary', he affixed his gaze on the new feed.

Deathstroke, also known as Slade Wilson, one of the most dangerous mercenaries to ever walk the planet, only chuckled. "I see. So the young heroes have blundered into this mess and now they want us to do the dirty work since they're unwilling to get their hands bloody. From what I've seen Mr. Luthor, these things have a penchant for total war, which means we'd be smart to return the favor." Punctuating his point, Deathstroke's hand snapped up just as a dagger was thrown from the darkened cavern before him, followed closely by several of the short, stocky rogue types. He spun the blade in his black gloved fingers and threw it back, nailing the lead creature in the neck, a gout of black blood spilling forth as it fell back, ignored by its companions. "Now if you'll excuse me." Not waiting for a response, Slade charged forward, a heavy broadsword in his right hand the next instant, already in mid swing.

They didn't need to hear the sounds of battle to know who was likely winning, Kaldur and Nightwing having since returned to glaring at Lex. He merely smiled amenably despite the dying screeches and agonized growls coming from Deathstroke's live feed as he and his minions cut down everything in front of them. Deciding to go for it, the two shared a subtle glance with each other before Nightwing asked, "I take it you know we're looking for Arsenal."

"Batman also asked about your former associate. I was genuinely curious if you'd get to Mr. Harper, but of course I should have known better." Lex, much to their surprise, nodded to Mercy, who made no visible movement, yet the feed from Deathstroke's cam was changed out for a new one, an all too familiar beam of red energy cutting through several of the monsters like a hot knife through butter. Lex didn't bat an eye even as Kaldur and Dick paled slightly as the slain creatures fell to the stone, their upper halves falling first. "Mr. Harper, your former allies are inquiring as to your wellbeing."

"Tsk, after Zatanna's failed attempt to capture me you mean?" Roy Harper scoffed derisively as he used his metal arm as a shield, a shower of sparks erupting from where the sword hit, before he punched the offender square in the jaw with his still human off hand. Just as quickly he brought a heavy, black boot down on its face, spinning and ducking as another tried to take his head off in the next instant. It too fell when a black clothed swordsman, a League of Shadow assassin, cut it across its waist as it passed. "Well you can tell Nightwing I'm fine right where I am, and that I'm not coming back anytime soon, not after he booted me from the team for doing what was necessary."

"You know _exactly_ why I had to kick you off the team, _Arsenal_ ," Nightwing retorted as his eyes narrowed to slits behind his mask, "but that doesn't matter right now, not with Metropolis under siege."

"At least we can agree on something." Roy spat out, surprising the pair with just how angry he sounded despite Nightwing having seen what the former archer had been capable of first hand some months ago. But he'd hoped some time off would have calmed Roy down, instead it seemed the opposite was true as he fired again, the laser weapon attached to his cybernetic arm cutting another bloody swath right through the creatures' front ranks. "If you're planning to send teams down here, make sure they're actually willing to get their hands bloody, otherwise you'll just be getting in the way, Boy Wonder." With a contemptuous jerk of his hand, Roy had the feed cut, leaving the rest to stare at the snow covered screen.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Jaime, having since returned to the central chamber, mouthing 'asshole' at the static screen with a shake of his head as Nightwing turned his attention back to Luthor. "Now then, Nightwing, Aqualad." Lex began, smiling like they were discussing the weather rather than talking about a legitimate threat to the safety of Metropolis. "I'm right to assume that you will soon join with our own forces?"

"We'll be there." Was all he'd say on the matter, while Kaldur merely nodded his head.

"I'd already sent several teams into the sewers, but they were merely scouting at the time. Now that we have a better idea of what we're up against, orders will change to reflect our unfortunate but necessary change to how we approach this new threat." Kaldur didn't have to finish the thought for them to know what he was thinking. As much as it didn't feel right to Dick, he knew better than to argue since this was a hostile invasion, and they'd have to deal with it the only way they could if things didn't get better. "Now if you'll excuse me Luthor, we have a war to prepare for."

"At least _you_ understand the stakes, Kaldur'ahm. Your father will be happy to hear your time with his troops has paid off in making you more ruthless." The barb was met with a just audible curse in Atlantean before Lex's call ended.

A hand on his shoulder drew Kaldur out of his darkening mood somewhat as Dick turned to Jaime. "You and the others doing okay?"

"Y-yeah, although Garth and M'gann have locked themselves in her room for the time being. Can't say I blame 'em though, jeffe, these things are just…." Running an armored hand across the back of his neck, Jaime trailed off, unable, or unwilling, to finish his thought. Not that he needed to since it was a sentiment shared by all of them.

"I know, and as much as I hate to agree with _Luthor_ of all people, we might not have a choice in how we drive these things off." The very thought was sickening to Nightwing, especially since he was deathly afraid of just how far he'd be forced to go before this was over, that they'd all be forced to go, but the alternative was even more terrifying with what little they'd seen from the monsters beneath Metropolis. Pushing such thoughts aside for now, Dick sighed and let his arms fall to his sides. "Let's hope M'gann's ready to interrogate our prisoner. I don't want to force her to do something she'd regret, but we need every bit of intel we can get our hands on."

"Then it's a good thing you won't have to convince me." Seeing an uncomfortably familiar gleam in M'gann's eyes as she phased through the floor to stand between them. Dick nodded grimly as the hard set of her jaw softened somewhat. "I appreciate your concern, Dick, but I was there, same as you were. I might not like it, but we need to know what we're up against."

"Alright, Miss Martian," Kaldur stated before Dick could try to talk her out of it, "we trust you to get the job done." Whatever his own discomfort about the woman between them, Kaldur was able to push them aside for the sake of the people below. Besides, what he'd told Barbara had been true, he didn't begrudge M'gann's actions during his time undercover. Having said that, he couldn't let her go to the lab without some measure of reassurance. "If something goes badly during the link, we'll try to pull you out."

"If these things really _are_ a psychically linked hive mind consciousness as we suspect, you won't have long to intervene before I lose my sanity. Hopefully just scratching the surface will be enough to get what we want." Putting a hand on Kaldur's skin icons, eel like tattoos that ran the length of his muscular limbs all the way down to his hands, the Atlantean got the hint as to what she was asking him to do.

Dick, for his part, tapped at the high powered taser he had on his belt, having gotten the same message. "Only as a last resort." He promised, but the growing hole in the pit of his stomach widened somewhat at the dread possibility of throwing M'gann to the wolves if this ended poorly.


End file.
